Apple iPods have gained incredible popularity as music players. But at the heart of the iPod is a hard drive, and with a little tweak to iTunes, it can be used as a standard backup drive in Windows Explorer. You can use any free space on your iPod to back up data, and you get the benefit of a portable storage location. Compared with most USB 2.0 external drives, the iPod doesn't require external power, and its portability makes it well suited to protect your laptop on the road or synchronize files between your home and work PCs.

Tanagra's Memeo works with the iPod, and in addition to its standard backup capabilities, Memeo backs up Outlook e-mail, calendar, contacts, and notes to the iPod's corresponding programs under the Extras menu (see the iPod mini photo above). The data is read-only, but it's still handy when you're away from your PC and PDA. The feature worked as claimed, but we prefer to use a PDA or smartphone that allows you to add or edit contact information. Memeo works only with PST files, so you can't download your Microsoft Exchange mailbox data.

To let Windows see the iPod as an external drive, check the Enable Disk Use box in the iTunes iPod preferences. Unfortunately Memeo can't do this step for you.

When deciding which iPod to buy, consider getting some extra capacity to store your files. Using an iPod as a backup device may be the smartest thing you do with the player.

Rob Lipschutz is PC Magazine's Lead Analyst for Business and Networking. He is responsible for our coverage of networking, and of services and software targeted at the unique needs of smaller businesses. As former Technical Director, Networking for PC Magazine, he just can't get these products out of his blood. Rob has written three books and numerous articles on networking and Internet products and technologies. His continuing quest is to find those products that truly help to improve, even revolutionize, the way your business works...
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